First meeting of The Bahamas
Writers Group
I formed the
Bahamas Writers Group (BWG) in January 2003, thinking it would just be a few
writers meeting monthly over coffee.
The group was a spin-off from
my former writers’ website bahamaswriter.com
– the link now goes to my blog. You can find a lot of
information from this in my writer’s guide, “How to Be the Best Writer Ever!”,
available as an e-book and in paperback at Amazon and other online retailers. I
cover Writers’ Groups in Chapter 6.
The BWG was born out of a little lunch in Caffé Caribe, Harbour
Bay, Nassau, when four local BahamasWriter.com forum members got together for
the first time, along with two vacationing forum members from Canada.
The first actual
meeting, consisting of nine members, was in the former Le Pasion café opposite
Hoffer’s Shopping Centre, Cable Beach. But the BWG grew so much, eventually
reaching about forty members (not all of the members attended each time,
however), that I relocated our meetings to the former premises of New
Providence Community Church, Cable Beach.
Second Meeting of The Bahamas Writers Group
The writing goals
that I established were:
To have fun
writing; enjoy the camaraderie of fellow writers; motivate and inform each
other as writers; improve the quality of our writing; have our work recognized
locally and internationally; and to get published!
I did structure
the meetings though. Prior to each meeting, I would put together an agenda,
along with materials to be handed out. And I provided light refreshments at the
meetings!
Here are two of
the agendas (click each one to read):
By July 2003, I
had become very busy with my family real estate business. The group was going
so well, I decided they didn’t really need me to run it anymore and I let the members know. They were disappointed, but understood. During the
July meeting, members voted that a team should take over. Eight members
volunteered to be part of the new team! The group also voted to maintain the
goals and policies of the BWG that I had set up.
We took a break
in August and the BWG met again in September, with the new team in place.
I regret to say
that the group eventually floundered after this, but nothing can ever replace
the camaraderie, encouragement and fellowship from our meetings. I am sure
other members, a few of whom sadly have since left this earth, felt the same.
So, if you would
like to start a Writers’ Group, go for it! Although it can be hard work, it’s
most satisfying and can motivate you to write more and get published.
Please note: None of my posts, articles, short stories or books are written by AI! They are written solely by me!
(If you would like to comment
on this post, please click on the title and a comments box will pop up. Thanks!)
